As the class bell rang, even Wang Dong collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
Huo Yuhao merely shook his head and sat down casually.
When Zhou Yi saw that all the students were sprawled out on the ground, she waved her hand toward the distance. A white-clad man appeared gracefully, his bearing both elegant and imposing.
Two yellow, two purple, three black—seven spirit rings. A Spirit Saint with a Life Tree martial soul, a high-ranked auxiliary-type master.
As his Martial Soul Avatar activated, countless glowing leaves descended, landing softly upon the exhausted students.
A cool sensation spread through their bodies. Their damaged meridians and muscles, their fatigue from high-intensity exercise—all quickly healed.
Strike with one hand, soothe with the other. For the very first lesson, Zhou Yi, aiming to establish authority, naturally wouldn't go too far.
Thus she had borrowed some favors through Fan Yu to invite this Spirit Saint from the Inner Court. Normally, she wouldn't have that privilege—after all, Zhou Yi was only an Outer Court Spirit Emperor, whereas this man was a genuine Inner Court powerhouse.
"Whoa, that's the Life Tree martial soul!" Wang Dong muttered in awe as she felt her strength returning.
"..." Watching Wang Dong's wide-eyed expression, Huo Yuhao wondered if she'd been struck with Tang San's divine idiocy. How could a young lady of the Clear Sky Sect be so easily impressed?
Seeing the teasing look in his eyes, Wang Dong's cheeks flushed. "What are you staring at? The Life Tree martial soul is rare, okay? Aside from the Nine-Hearted Begonia, it's practically unmatched among healing types!"
Once the recovery was complete, the white-robed man nodded slightly and left without another word, ignoring Zhou Yi's deferential bow.
The students rose to their feet one after another, feeling the strange lightness in their bodies. Zhou Yi's earlier intimidation seemed forgotten as chatter filled the air.
That was exactly what she wanted—balance fear and relief, tighten and loosen the reins. Once she expelled another "unqualified" student later, her control over the rest would be absolute.
This time, without the original story's interruptions, Zhou Yi directly expelled one student—the one with the weakest constitution due to their martial soul.
"Alright, pack your things and get out," she said coldly.
"The rest of you shouldn't get too happy. My task required running until the bell rang. Only Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao met that standard.
"Normally, I'd punish all of you—but since this is your first day, I'll let it slide. Don't think I'm soft. The punishment is simply postponed. Understood?"
"Understood!" the students chorused.
"Good. Dismissed. Take your iron vests with you. Tomorrow, another teacher will handle theory, but the day after tomorrow, it's my class again. I don't want to see any more trash."
With that, she turned and left, leaving behind a group of relieved yet trembling students.
Once she was gone, murmurs arose.
"Teacher Zhou Yi isn't that bad after all."
"Yeah, at least she didn't punish us."
"She's actually pretty nice."
Hearing these naïve comments, Wang Dong couldn't relax.
Yes, Zhou Yi had spared them—but she had still expelled someone, and by her rules, not Shrek's. Why did everyone ignore that? Why did they so easily believe she was a "good teacher"?
Huo Yuhao patted her shoulder. "Don't overthink it. Class's over. Go rest. You'll have plenty of time to figure it out later."
Back at the dormitory, he took his clothes and went to the public bathhouse, leaving the room for Wang Dong.
While washing, Huo Yuhao pondered.
So that was a Martial Soul Avatar… basically enlarging one's martial soul structure, filling it with soul power, and using the soul rings as a framework to externalize it.
If that's the case, could I deconstruct others' Avatars—or even their martial souls—and use them to enhance different abilities?
Who says a Martial Soul Avatar must only be used by its owner? What if I engraved one as a Soul Tool core formation—could it replace the original?
And if I combined them, would the enhancements stack?
He lost himself in thought. After finishing, he sat outside the dorm, still thinking, not wanting to disturb Wang Dong.
Soon, the door opened. Wang Dong stepped out, fresh and clean, a white shirt clinging slightly to her slender frame. Her soft blue-pink hair shimmered as she dried it with a towel.
If Huo Yuhao didn't know her true identity, he might've blurted, "Bro, you smell good."
But knowing she was a girl—and a twelve-year-old one—he had no other thoughts. Three years minimum, death penalty at worst, he joked inwardly.
"Done?" he asked, then went inside, tidied up, changed, and left again—destination: the Outer Court library.
He needed to catalog and memorize as much useful information as possible to plan his next steps.
With his new formations—the level-one Soul Power Condensation Array and Conversion Array—Skydream had successfully merged their strengths, improving his cultivation speed dramatically.
However, that made his soul power circulation more complex—something only a spiritual powerhouse like him could maintain.
Alright, time to head back.
He exhaled, set down the book he'd been using as a cover, checked out several others, and left.
By dusk, he'd memorized knowledge from over a hundred volumes—more than enough to study later.
Returning to the dorm, he found Wang Dong still awake.
"Why aren't you asleep yet? We've got class tomorrow," he said, setting down his books.
"I was waiting for you. I wanted to ask a few questions," she replied hesitantly.
"..." Huo Yuhao didn't refuse. "Go ahead. Whether I answer depends on my mood."
The conversation stretched late into the night—starting with Zhou Yi, drifting through classmates, families, countries, and eventually the entire world of Spirit Masters.
At first, Huo Yuhao replied lazily. But as they spoke, he loosened up, even laughing now and then, sharing insights he normally wouldn't—except for the secrets he couldn't reveal.
Wang Dong, who had grown up pampered by the Clear Sky Sect's elders, listened wide-eyed.
By the end, their bond had grown slightly stronger. For Huo Yuhao, who'd arrived in this world with lingering tension, the talk was unexpectedly comforting.
Maybe this world isn't so bad after all—except for Tang San, that is. Still, strength comes first. Rest is over; time to get back to work.
Lying down, he drifted into meditation, his spirit diving once more into the sea of consciousness to continue his research.
The next morning, despite sleeping late, both rose early, ate breakfast, and headed out.
"I'm stuffed," Wang Dong said cheerfully. "There's still time before class. Want to walk by Sea God Lake?"
"No thanks. Those books I gave you last night—read them. I picked them out carefully," Huo Yuhao said with a grin.
Sea God Lake? Never. Not in this lifetime. If Ma Xiaotao was involved, whoever went near her could count him out.
Thinking of the books, Wang Dong's face twitched. "You borrowed those? 'Unofficial Histories of the Shrek Seven Devils,' 'Tales of Former Elders'… What's even the point?"
Huo Yuhao smiled. "You don't get it. Official histories are edited. The truth hides between the lines of unofficial records. Cross-reference enough of them, and real history surfaces."
"Only by reading the wild histories can your brain actually start working."
"Think about it. They'll keep you busy for a while. I'm heading back to the library—see you in class."
He waved and slipped away.
The day passed uneventfully: morning lessons on Martial Soul classification, afternoon lectures on identifying spirit beast ages.
Huo Yuhao found plenty of flaws—teachers parroting outdated theories, often less accurate than what books recorded.
At this rate, no wonder so many Shrek students die during spirit hunts. Following these methods without high-level protection is just gambling with one's life.
Still, maybe that's Shrek's style—reckless confidence born from elitism. Only a school like this could normalize jumping from hundred-year rings straight to thousand or ten-thousand-year ones.
"Ugh, finally over," Wang Dong groaned. "That class was torture."
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly as she tugged his sleeve toward the cafeteria. But on the way, he overheard other students whispering:
"Hey, did you hear? Some students went missing this morning."
"They probably dropped out."
"No, seriously—Shrek is haunted! It's part of Shrek's Ten Mysteries—they say Sea God Lake claims a few freshmen every year."
"Don't joke like that. Where'd you hear it?"
"From an upperclassman!"
So that's coming up, huh? Better steer clear of that cursed lake just to be safe.
(End of Chapter)